Looking for the best scanners currently available? We've got you covered, as on this page we've selected the best devices for home and office use.
Buying the best standalone scanner money can buy is still a wise investment for many people. Sure, there are some great all-in-one printers (opens in new tab) that can be used for scanning, but they just cannot compare to the best scanners that have been built for the specific purpose of digitally converting documents, photos and more.
If you work in a busy office that needs fast, high-quality, scanning, then you'll want one of the best scanners we've listed right here.
So, if you’re in the market for one of the best scanners for your office or home, any of the scanners we’ve gathered up in this list will make sure you have a dependable and great-performing device.
You'll also find our price comparison tool on this page, and it will automatically compare prices from a number of online retailers to make sure you get the very best deals when buying a new scanner.
If you're after something for your photos - check out our list of the best photo scanners (opens in new tab)
The Canon ImageFORMULA R40 scanner is a handy document scanner ideal for one-off projects or more serious regular document imaging.
It lacks networking, making attachment to a host computer a necessity in using it, but in every other respect, it's an excellent choice for those that want to dip their toes in document imaging without overspending.
What we especially liked was the bundled applications that cover conventional scanning tasks, OCR and even business card capture. The default CaptureOnTouch tool is simple yet has sufficient features to satisfy business workflows.
Where it shines is in those scenarios that involve emailing scanned documents alongside saving them to a local folder and on the cloud. Multiple operations can be executed with a single scanning action, which makes for efficient scanning and reduces the cost of ownership.
As dedicated business scanners go, the R40 is highly affordable, and Canon has designed it with roller replacements for those that want to utilise the 4,000 pages a day potential of this design.
Read the full review: Canon ImageFORMULA R40 scanner (opens in new tab)
Flatbed scanners are the only way to go should you want a versatile unit to scan photos at high resolution, and the Canoscan 9000F Mark II ticks all the right boxes. It might be three-years-old but like the scanner market in general, there hasn't been a lot of meaningful innovation in this particular arena.
The 9000F offers a scanning resolution of up to 9600x9600 dpi for film/slides and a quarter of that for photo and documents, all at 48-bit. It can handle negatives and filmstrips thanks to a built-in adaptor. It doesn't require warm-up time and can also scan straight to a number of cloud-based services. It might be a tad bigger than its cousins (many of which would be using CMOS rather than CCD technology) but features like FARE (Film Automatic Retouching and Enhancement) will more than make up for that.
The most important feature in a network scanner is the presence of an Ethernet port. Many high-end document scanners will have one by default since they're expected to service more than one person. The better models will offer a fast scanning speed coupled with integrated drivers, high daily duty cycles, the ability to scan to multiple destinations and a decent size document sheet feeder.
The Epson Workforce DS-860N offers all this and more – there's a five-year warranty as default, and the ability to scan oversized folded documents (e.g. A3). It can scan at up to 65 pages per minute at a resolution of up to 600 dpi, with a daily duty cycle of 6,000 sheets. Two other smart features include colour enhance or colour dropout which either highlights or removes a particular colour from the scanned document.
SMBs must be flexible, and the same is true for the office equipment they use, which is why the ideal scanner for a small business may well be one that combines scanning, printing and, more often than not, faxing. Purists might not agree, but a single unit that can handle all these essential business functions is often a better option than having dedicated devices, especially if you are a one-man-band or a small team.
The HP Officejet 7612 is near that sweet spot: it copies, scans and faxes, has an Ethernet port and offers Wi-Fi, scans up to A3 size (and to several destinations) and doesn't cost the Earth. Users will love the fact that it supports both Mac and Linux, and that it sports a large touchscreen control panel.
A portable scanner is all about compromises – you swap the convenience of having a large flatbed area for mobility. The best models will do duplex scanning (the ability to scan both sides of a sheet), scan more than one page at a time, offer macOS and Windows compatibility and a decent software package. Optionally, they can be battery-powered, offer Wi-Fi and the ability to scan to the cloud.
The ADW-1600W from Brother fits the bill in terms of cramming features in – despite its diminutive size, this device sports an LCD touchscreen, a 20-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF), and can scan up to 18 pages per minute. It also comes with built-in TWAIN and ISIS drivers, a USB port and Wi-Fi connectivity. Surprisingly, it even supports Linux and has a clever slot allowing you to scan plastic IDs.
Check out our list of the best printers (opens in new tab)
